Okay, so it might sound weird, but it tastes good. This was one of those “I wonder what would happen if…” dishes I do when I already have a couple other vegetables going to the table. I was tired of the way I had been doing broccoli, and I had stuff heading to the grill already, so I thought, “Why not?”. This works best if you have broccoli that has longer stemmed florets with stems ¼ to ½ inch thick. You need a barbecue with closely spaced grill bars or one of the accessories for grills that allows you cook smaller items so they do not fall through the grating.
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This is my take on a recipe from a friend. This is a dish where the cooking method combines with the main ingredients to provide the flavor. It is important not to crowd the meat when cooking so it browns, and the charring of the chilies provides flavor as well. The underlying flavor through it all is the cilantro and tomatillo. Using the stems avoids the soapy taste some people pick up from cilantro, and the leaves discolor where the stems do not. Eat this as a stew or cook down until fairly dry and use in tacos. This dish is poco picante. Adjust the number of jalapenos and serranos to make it hotter or milder.
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The farm is in full summer swing now. There are yummy summer vegetables (beans, peppers, cucumbers, and eggplants) growing nicely. The apples (and even some pears this year) are formed on the trees and starting to size up. The blueberries have slowed down, but we’re still able to put a few in the mystery shares each week. The strawberries are plugging along nicely. 
In this year of learning about our new Lewis Rd. farmland, we decided to not take a chance with the tomatoes. The Thomas Farm has been growing wonderful organic tomatoes for decades, so we asked Josh if he would plant enough to supply our CSA for this summer.
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Potato Onion Gratin (without cream)
Gratin refers to the cooking vessel as well as the method of cooking, and the dish itself. So, slipping some vegetables into a gratin dish, cooking them in the oven so the top gets browned and crisp (gratinéed), yields a gratin. I do lots of them in the summer with things like tomato, eggplant, summer squash, and onions, but I love a potato gratin year-round. When it is warmer, I prefer to make them just with stock rather than using dairy such as cream, and I skip the cheese unless I grate some on in the last few minutes. This recipe gives an option for this.
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Cooking the whole garlic in the oil flavors the oil without leaving bits of garlic in the pan to burn. It is important to spread the pimenton into the oil and cook it at low heat so it permeates the oil, does not stick in a clump, and does not burn and become acrid tasting. This same technique would work for potatoes, carrots, Romesco, and other dense vegetables. The timing will vary with each type.
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Gremolata is the traditional topping for osso bucco made of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley all chopped finely and mixed. I like to riff on that, varying the herbs and adding breadcrumbs or nuts. I also think that summer squash is always enhanced by dry cooking methods such as roasting.
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For the past few years, we have been getting flowers for the CSA from Steve’s cousin, Josh, at the Thomas Farm in Corralitos. 
The heat we have received this last week has really pushed things along. Over the next few weeks we have beautiful blocks of celery, broccoli and cauliflower that will be ready for harvest, as well as a new field of summer squashes that is now in bloom. Over the next few days we will go through and “blanch” the cauliflower plants by pulling the outer leaves together over the top of the plant and tying them together with rubber bands.
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INGREDIENTS:
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This is a very basic Japanese “pickle” or salad that you might find in a home-style restaurant or in a bento box. This dish is ridiculously simple, but it keeps well and has a nice flavor and some crunch. No dressing makes it lower calorie, also. This is another of those dishes where I can not recommend a Ben-Riner (Japanese fixed blade slicer) enough. It makes doing this dish a snap. Oh, it is pronounced “skee-moan-oh”.
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This recipe is for a salad that is used as a topping for breaded chops. The contrast between the hot crisp chop and the cool salad with its peppery bite and slight acid from tomatoes and vinaigrette makes for a wonderful dish. This salad is also excellent on its own, or as a topping for bruschetta.
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This is the basic method for doing breaded pork chops. This recipe is for baking them, although you could fry them if you wish. I find this method is less messy. I make home-made breadcrumbs in the food processor from older dried out loaves of bread such as ciabatta or French. The crumbs are way better than any of the commercial stuff out there.
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This is a favorite dressing, and has been for years. Use good quality vinegar, but save your best stuff for other uses. This dressing is good on any salad, and goes well with fruit salad, too. You can also heat it up and pour it over sliced mushrooms. This will cook the mushrooms and give them a “pickled” flavor, and they keep well for several days in the refrigerator. They are good in salad and make a nice topping for grilled meat or poultry.
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The other morning I awoke to someone calling cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, outside our bedroom window. My husband and I looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably. It was our neighborhood mockingbird and I swear, it was a distinct “cheeseburger” that was being sung.
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No, not “twice baked potatoes”! These potatoes are steamed or boiled just enough to cook them through, then they are smashed and roasted. The result tastes like a cross between mashed potatoes and French-fries, and is really good. The recipe works especially well with potatoes like Romanze, Yellow Finn, and Yukon Gold. This recipe works best with potatoes around 3 inches in diameter.
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This dressing is for a German style potato salad, but works well as a dressing for lettuces as well. The fennel takes it into a Mediterranean direction, so if you want a true German style dressing eliminate the fennel and go with some caraway instead, but go lightly with that. Caraway can easily take over a dish. This recipe makes more than enough dressing for the potato salad recipe, but better more than not enough. If you just want the dressing for a salad, halve the recipe. Toasting the fennel seeds in this recipe give them a sweeter, drier flavor. Untoasted, the seeds are stronger and have a more licorice-like flavor. Using half and half will add another layer to the flavors. You could also use this recipe for a slaw with cabbage, carrots, and fennel.
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“Be careful not to disturb the nest between the blueberry rows–there are 9 duck eggs in there.” I told my berry-picking crew. “No” Gabriel said. “Once! There are eleven.” The clutch of eggs that a mother mallard had laid in the middle of an aisle between rows of blueberry plants has finally hatched. Although we didn’t see it, the mother undoubtedly led her ducklings in single file down to the slough, a few hundred yards away.
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This recipe is an outgrowth of a pepper recipe I picked up from a couple of older Sicilian women at a farmer’s market long ago. I was making the peppers recipe and had extra grappa soaked raisins to use, so this recipe was born. If you do not have grappa for your raisins, use vodka or white wine. I had pistachios on hand, so I used them. Almonds or pine nuts work just as well.
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Roasting broccoli is a great way to prepare this vegetable. It enhances the sweetness of broccoli and provides appealing textures. Depending on your preference, you can make it crispier or chewier as you choose by adjusting the size of the pieces and the cooking temperature and time. Another nice thing about roasting broccoli is the method mitigates the swampy smell broccoli sometimes gives off when wet cooked. This method will work really well for romanesco or cauliflower as well.
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I use a mortar and pestle for my pesto. I feel the flavors are brighter and the pesto holds its color and flavor longer. The pestle releases all the basil juices into the mortar so there is more basil aroma. Food processors heat the pesto and “cook” the basil, which helps the discoloration. Food processor blades dull quickly and rather than making a clean cut to the basil they tear it, speeding oxidization. I give the food processor version of this recipe further down. If using the food processor, I recommend doing a double batch as a single recipe is hard to get right in a standard sized processor bowl. Also, I just like the process of using the mortar and pestle as I find it meditative. I am more engaged with the food, the sound of the nuts grinding, and especially the smell as the basil gives up its juices. I like pesto for a lot more than just pasta. I mix it into farro or other whole grains, or toss vegetables with it. I also love it as a smear on sandwiches.
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Steve’s working in the field outside my office window. Now, my “office” at High Ground Organics is a marvelous yurt that overlooks the apple orchard that overlooks the potato field that overlooks the Harkins Slough. I can’t imagine a lovelier place to work. I look out my window and see the tractor is discing up a little wedge of land in front of the apple trees.
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Rapini with Fennel and Orange
Rapini is an assertively flavored green that is usually sautéed with garlic and chili. I like the idea of using sweet flavors or milder vegetables to balance this aspect of rapini. Ideally, this rapini dish would be used to “sauce” glazed carrots (see “Basic Glazed Carrots”) where half the butter is switched to olive oil, and a pinch of powdered fennel seed is added to the water when cooking the carrots. You could use a little orange juice as the bridge as well. The colors are a nice contrast on the plate, and the mild and sweet carrots are a nice foil for the slightly bitter tang of the rapini.
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Scrambled Eggs with Tortilla Chips, Avocado, Cilantro, and…
This dish is a riff on a Mexican dish called “migas”, which is traditionally made with older corn tortillas. This one uses tortilla chips. You can use old stale ones and smaller broken bits in the bottom of the bag, or fresh ones work fine too. My son is not a fan of eggs, but this dish never fails to please him, plus it is a great vehicle for getting vegetables into the kids. I use leftover zucchini, peppers, grilled onions, broccoli, and even green beans. Adding avocado is really nice, especially if it is chilled. The contrast between the hot egg and cold avocado is fun. This recipe is a guideline. Play with it and make it your own. Be sure to add the oil and water to the eggs to prevent sticking.
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This is a mix of herbs, alliums, and citrus inspired by the classic Italian “salsa verde” made of lemon zest, capers, herbs, and garlic-at the very least-and is used in the same way. Top fish, chicken, meat, or tofu with it, use as a marinade for tofu, or use as a dip. It is really good with hot or cold shrimp. Whatever you do with it, use a sharp knife when making it. You want to cut the ingredients, not mash them. This way the individual flavors are bright and stand out, instead of everything forming a muddy mélange over-ridden with onion and garlic.
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Some of you will be receiving the first blueberries that we have picked this year (don’t worry, there are plenty more to come, and we will rotate packing days to be sure that everybody gets some in the next few weeks). Of the four varieties that we planted, Southmoon is the clear favorite so far.
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